Button sewing machine



Feb' zo 1946 H. A. LANDls -2`;l91,`l291L l BuTToN SEWING MACHINE 4 sheetvsl-Svheet .1

Nov. 160

Humm,

Feb 20, 1940- f H. A. LANDls 2,191,129

BUTTON SEWING MACHINE v Filed Nov. 16, 1938 Feb. 20, 1940. H A LANDls 2,191,129

BUTTON SEWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 16, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ffl d y 27 1w Y iu/ 9 l ,f5 www? 5 wwe/MIM Fell 20, 1940- H. A. LANDls nunon SEWING mams 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 16, 1938 dumm 'Patented Feb. 20, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUTTON SEWING MACHINE Harry A. Landis, Red Lion, Pa.

Application November 16, 19;;8, Serial No. 240,813

16 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in sewing machines, and, in particular, to the type designed to sew buttons upon cloth or other materials.

I am aware that machines of this general type have heretofore been proposed, but in the main they are of the power operated type for mass production, very complicated in construction and expensive.

Therefore, as distinguished from these, my invention has for its objective the provision of a light, easily portable, inexpensive, practical and eilicient device for the home, for use by seamstresses, or in tailoring shops, hospitals, industrial and other schools, department store alteration departments, penal institutions or elsewhere where buttons are to be sewed on garments, where small quanties of buttons are handled and the investment of large sums of money for power machines is not warranted.

It will be understood that the machine is not intended solely for button sewing, but also for sewing on dress snaps and hooks and eyes, and that it is equally effective for all sizes of buttons Whether two eye or four eye.

The machine has for a further object `the provision of a single manual control in the form of an operating member to impart reciprocation to the needle bar, including cooperating instrumentalities for converting such motion into continuous rotary motion of the looper shaft.

A still further object is the provision of a novel oscillating mechanism operable incident to the reciprocation of the operating member for the needle bar for causing said bar to rock laterally and pass the needle through each of a pair of holes in the button to be sewed on. i

In addition to the foregoing, I provide novel means cooperating with the looper shaft for kicking its crank over dead center, thereby insuring continuous rotation of the shaft in one direction during the stitching operation.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a front elevation.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the head of the machine showing the mounting of the needle bar from one side thereof and other details. y

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of the head of the machine, showing more clearly the details of construction of the oscillating mechanism for the needle bar.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view of the base portion of the machine in rear elevation and showing 5 the crank connection with the looper shaft.

Figure 7 is an enlarged view, partly in section, of the base portion of the machine, showing more clearly the looper mechanism used inconnection with the device.

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the construction shown in Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 9-9 of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is a detailed perspective view of the 15 loop spreader frame.

Figure 11 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line lI-ll of Figure 7.

Figure 12 is a detailed perspective view of the needle bar oscillating plate. 2

Figure 13 is a detailed view of the star wheel for effecting oscillation of the oscillating plate.

Figure 14 is a fragmentary perspective view of the operating lever, showing in detail the detent for engaging the star wheel.

Figure 15 is an enlarged front elevation of the base of the machine showing more clearly the operation of the looper mechanism in the formation of a stitch through the holes of a button; and 30 Figures 16 and 17 are similar sectional Views taken through the head of the machine with the needle bar removed and showing the disposition of the oscillating means in the extreme positions of swing of the needle bar. 35

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

General construction Taking up first the general structure of the 4:0 device and referring particularly to Figure 1 of the drawings, l designates a suitable base support from one end of which extends upwardly the standard 2 formed with the overhanging 45 y arm 3. This arm terminates in the head 4 formed with vertically spaced apertured guide lugs 5 5, in which is reciprocablyfmounted the needle bar 6 having mounted therein at one end the needle 1. 5

At one end of the arm 3 is secured the spool supporting post 8 carrying the adjustable spool rest or disc 9 with which the spring I0 coacts to plac-e the spool under slight tension against the locking member I I to prevent accidental unspooling of the thread, said locking member functioning also when in crosswise position to prevent the spool from being displaced in carrying the machine .about or when accidentally overturned in use.

Thread from the spool passes through the usual vadjustable tensioning'device I2, through the guide eye I3 at the/top of the needle bar and the guide eyes I4I4 in the head lugs 5-5 to the needle. "n.-ff/

Needlebar actuator` l This machine being a small compact one, I preferably employ a unique control common to the needle bar and the stitch forming mechanism in the nature of a manually operating lever I5 pivotally secured intermediate its length at I6 to the side of the arm I3 and formed at its forward end with a laterally extending flnger piece I1 by means of which the lever is depressed. 'I'his lever is provided atk the forward end with an elongated aperture I8 (see Figure 14) through which extends a screw I9 connected with the adjustable clamp block 20 held on the needle bar by the clamping screw 2|.

The needle bar is normally held in and returned to its upper or raised position by a spring 22, detachably connected at 23 to the lever I5 between the pivot I6 and the rear end oi the lever and to the standard 2 at 24, by which latter connection the tension of the spring may be regulated.

The lever I5 is also connected to the looper mechanism hereinafter to be specifically described by the link 25 hooked at one end over the notched rearend of the lever and at its other end connected to the crank arm 26 secured on the rear end of the looper shaft 21.

Needle bar oscillating mechanism Before describing the looper mechanism, it is desirable to set forth the means by which the needle bar in operation is shifted or oscillated transversely of the head 4 as the bar is reciprocated to thereby enable the needle to alternately or successively penetrate spaced openings in the button to be sewed on.

This mechanism comprises a plate 28 mounted on the head just in back of the needle bar by a pivot pin 29 passing through the opening 30 (see Figure l2). At its lower end the plate is formed with an apertured lug or extension 3l which engages the needle bar and on the back of the plate is attached an elliptical cam 32 arranged to seat within a central irregular or heart-shaped recess 33 of a star or ratchet wheel 84. The walls of this recess form dwells and camming surfaces so that, when the wheel is rotated, the plate will be moved from right to left and vice versa, in turn shifting the needle bar to move correspondingly on each successive upstroke a distance of about one-eighth of an inch at the needle point. The wheel 34 is carried by a hub disc 35 riveted to the back and rotatively mounted on the head by the screw 36.

The rotative movement of the wheel is accomplished by virtue of the successive projection of its points into the path of movement `of thel operating lever l5, or more strictly speaking the path of a spring pawl 31 attached at one end to the lever at 38 (see Figure 14) and having a detent 39 at its other end guidingly received in the onset I5' of the lever. As the operating lever moves downwardly this detent rides over the tooth projecting into its path, said wheel being held against rotation by the spring stop pawl 40 attached to the left side of the head 4, as at 4I. As the operating lever. now moves upwardly under the urge of-its spring 22 and with the needle bar, the member 39 engages the particular projecting tooth of the wheel, thereby turning the same sufliciently to effect lateral movement of the needle bar. Thus, on one upstroke, the bar is moved to the left -to position the needle point over one of the button openings, and, on the next lsucceeding upstroke, the bar is shifted to the right to -move the needle over the second button opening, and so on until the stitching operation is completed. It will be noted by reference to Figure 3, that the guide aperture 5a in the lower head lug 5 through which the needle bar passes is elongated to permit the oscillation referred to, while the upper opening 5b is but slightly larger than the bar at the top and tapered.

` Looper mechanism 'I'he looper mechanism hereinbefore referred to will now be described. The base of the machine is formed with a vertically spaced rest 42 terminating at its forward end in spaced arms 43--43 to which is secured the throat plate 44. This plate has an elongated opening 44' through which the needle moves in stitching.

Beneath the throat plate and rest 42 is journaled in the frame the looper shaft 21 hereinbefore referred to and upon its forward end is positioned as to be properly timed in relation to the position of the crank 26, will bev acted upon by the pressure exerted by the spring 48 to kick over the crank arm from its dead center position. Obviously, this same action takes place at the lower position of the crank arm 26 and at the upper position, for which reason the cam 46 is double-pointed. In this manner the reciprocal or oscillating motion of the lever I5 is converted into continuous rotary motion of the looper shaft 21.

In order to prevent the shaft from moving in the reverse direction, I attach to said shaft a ratchet Wheel 50 with which the spring-actuated pawl 5I, shown in Figure ll, engages.

'I'he ratchet and pawl mechanism 50 and 5I, in addition to preventing reverse rotation of the looper shaft 21, also has another valuable function. It .permits the needle bar 6 to be depressed to a position with the needle 1 in close proximity to the eyes of the button and to there hold such position against upward movement of the needle, permitting the operator to relieve. his holding tension on the operating finger piece I1 and concentrate on the positioning of the openings in the button and the adjustment of the cloth. With the needle point held in closely spaced relation to the cloth in this manner accurate positioning of the cloth and button is most easily and conveniently accomplished. In sewing buttons, etc., having more thantwo eyes, the holding of the needle by the retaining means above referred to in partially depressed position also effects a slack- 75 LLS `the spring s. t

the button and pulled toward the operator, this ing of`- thetension of the sewing thread, making it much easier to shift the button and cloth to position the next set of openings or eyes in proper relation to the needle.

VThe ratchet mechanism on the looper shaft inaddition to the above also compels a full and complete depression of the needle bar before it can be raised again, thereby insuring each stroke lby the operator to be complete.

: Loopspreader. `Inl order tomove the threads forming the loop out of the way in the successive strokes .during the stitching operation, I provide a deflector or spreaderframeQbest shown in Figure of. the

drawings.` This frame 52 is mounted directly beneath the throat plate M, guide arms 53 at one endftheframe and an arm 54 at the other being slidably mounted in recesses 55 in the arms 4`3ffo`r this purpose. t This frame has an arm 55 bentdownwardly therefrom so as to cooperate with alone-sidedlcam 51 mounted on the looper shaft `inrearjof`theimpulse cam 45. The arrangement referred to is best seen in Figure 11 of the ,dm-Wings. Y t l t Theframe is furthermore provided with a deiiector hook 58 at one slide arranged to extend acrossthe needle opening M' in the throat plate M. Normally "this frame member is held in inoperative positionvby a spring 59. When the needie has e'empleted its down stroke and isen its upward stroke,` it leaves a loop of thread extending down andaround underneath the wide portion andacross the oblong hole of the looper 45. "The two side threads forming this loop pass up and through the needle hole 44' in the throat plate."` The loop spreader at this time comes into action. This hook 58 moves toward the left, as viewed from the operators side of the machine, under "theaction of the cam 51 contacting with the arm ,56and engages both loop threads at a pointclosely beneath the throat plate and moves them to` theleft side of the oblong needle hole referred'to, `into such position as to insure that the needle will "enter within the loop in the conventionalmanner. This action is repeated for each needle stroke and prevents the needle from passingoutslde of the loop which would cause a dropped stitch. Upon the completion of the leftwardllnovment of the frame, the said frame is returned to its normal position rightwardly by Operation, of machine that the spool of thread has been positionedjupon itssupport and the thread passed tnreughthe teesiondeviee l2 and the respective guide eyes hereinbefore referred to, and the end offthethjread puued through the neecue eye for sveralinche-s, the operator places the button and cloth on the threat plate direeuy under the "needle `and holds it firmly in place by the first `two fingers .ofthe left hand; The finger rest I'I of 'the `operating lever I5 is now grasped and the leverdepressedslowly so as to move the needle bardownwardlyuntil the needle enters the opening intthe., button on that side which ywill be pierced by the needle on that particular stroke.

Holdingthe button rmly in this position, the "upfa'ndl down movement of the operating bar is continuedlwlith firm and quick successive strokes ntilasufficient number of stitches has been taken to securely fasten the button or other object on the cloth. To remove the button and cloth iromfthe machine, the cloth is grasped near action breaking the thread at the loop of the last stitch underneath the cloth. The next button may then be proceeded with in the same manner.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that one of the important features of this` device is the complete control of the various mechanisms exercised by the manual operation of the operating lever l5. The speed of movement of the'needle to insure accuracy of penetration of the holes of the button is clearly under the control of the operator, and the chances, therefore, of striking the button at the side of the hole are reduced to the very minimum. This direct control, in other words, enables the initial positioning of the button or other object to be sewed on so that theV needle in the successive strokes will pass into the spaced holes in the button. Necessarily, this operation of the lever I5 controls the action of the looper mechanism and loop spreader .devices in a direct and simple manner, and, therefore, all complications are eliminated and the machine simplied to such an extent as to make it possible to manufacture the same at a relatively small cost.

While it may be possible that the machine is not capable of sewing on buttons with speed corresponding to that of the power-driven machines, nevertheless it is possible to sew on buttons at a rate much in excess of hand sewing operations.

While the specific details of construction have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto as alterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. as-deined by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a sewing machine of the class described, a reciprocable needle bar and cooperating looper mechanism, and manually operable means directly connected to said needle bar for actuating the same in one direction, said last named means comprising a pivotal lever having a slot adjacent to one end receiving a fastening member engaged with a clamping member adjustably mounted on the needle bar, and said pivotal lever also having a finger-piece laterally offset therefrom adjacent to the connection between the lever and the needle bar.

2. In a sewing machine of the class described, a reciprocable needle bar and cooperating looper mechanism, manually operating means' directly connected to said needle bar for actuating the same in one direction, and means responsive to reciprocal movement of the needle bar for shifting the bar in a lateral direction, respecting its direction of reciprocation, said last named means including a ratchet wheel, a pivotal member loosely engaging the needle bar, cam means operatively connecting the ratchet wheel to the pivotal member for imparting pivotal movement to the latter responsive to rotation of the ratchet wheel, and a pawl carried by the manually operating means aforesaid and coacting with the ratchet wheel for rotating the latter upon actuation of the manual operating means in one direction.

3. In a sewing machine of the class described, a frame support, a needle bar mounted therein, manual means connected to said bar for moving it up and down comprising a pivoted lever, looper mechanism including a looper shaft having a crank connected to said lever, and spring-pressed means for imparting throw-over movement to said shaft as the crank approaches dead center position.

4. In a sewing machine of the class described, a frame support, a needle bar reciprocably mounted therein, an operating lever connected at one end to the needle bar. a looper shaft, including a crank arm, a link connecting the other end of said lever to the crank arm, a cam on said shaft, and means coacting with said cam to throw the crank arm over dead center to thereby produce continuous rotation of the shaft on operation of the lever.

5. In a sewing machine of the class described, a frame support, a needle bar reciprocably mounted therein, an operating lever connected at one .end to the needle bar, a looper shaft, includlng a crank arm, a link connectingthe other end of said lever to the crank arm, an impulse cam on said shaft,and a spring bearing on said cam to throw the crank arm over dead center and shift the cam and shaft and thereby produce continuous movement of the latter on operating the lever.

6. In a sewing machine of the class described, a frame support, a looper shaft journaled thereon, a reciprocable needle bar, an operating lever pivoted to the support and connected at one end to the bar and at its other end to the shaft,

spring means for normally holding the lever and f bar in its raised position, said lever having manual actuating means for depressing the lever and bar and effecting rotation of the shaft in one direction, and means for preventing rotation of the shaft in a reverse direction.

7. In a sewing machine of the class described, a frame support, a looper shaft journaled thereon including a crank arm, an operating lever pivoted to the support, a link connecting said lever to the crank arm, a needle bar connected to the lever and adapted to'be reciprocated upwardly and downwardly by said lever, an impulse cam and spring for throwing said crank arm over dead center, a ratchet and pawl for preventing reverse movement of the shaft, and means for raising the lever after depression to thereby im- 8. In a sewing machine of the class described, a frame support, a needle bar reciprocably and oscillatorily mounted thereon, an operating member for raising and lowering the needle bar in the stitching operation, and means intermittently operable by said member as the needle bar approaches the limit of its raising movement for oscillating the needle bar in each successive stroke thereof.

9. In a button sewing machine of the class described, a frame support, a needle bar and needle reciprocably and oscillatorily mounted thereon, an operating lever pivoted to the support and connected at one end to the bar for reciprocating the same, oscillating mechanism coacting with said bar including an element arranged in the path of movement of the lever for shifting the bar laterally on each stroke of the bar to thereby pass the needle through spaced holes in a button.

10. A button sewing machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein the oscillating mechanism includes a plate pivoted to the support and connected to the bar, and a star wheel arranged in the path of movement of the operating lever and hsving operating connection with the plate aforesa 1l. In a button sewing machine of the class described, a frame support including a sewing head having needle bar guidemeans therein, a needle bar reciprocably and oscillatorily mounted in said guide means, oscillating means mounted on said head comprising a plate pivoted at one end to the head and engaging the bar at itsother end, a cam on said plate, a star wheel having a recess for receiving said cam, an operating lever on said support having a finger piece and connected to said bar, a one-way acting detent on said lever engageable with the star wheel for shifting the bar laterally on each successive stroke of the bar, and a looper shaft and looper operatively connected to the operating lever aforesaid for actuation thereby during operation of the bar.

12. In a button sewing machine, a needle bar, a manually operable lever for actuating said bar, oscillating mechanism connected to the bar and operable by said lever, looper mechanism operable by said lever to form loops in the thread during the stitching operation, and a thread defiector member operated by said looper mechamsm.

13. In a button sewing machine, a needle bar, a manually operable lever for actuating said bar, oscillating mechanism connected to the bar and operable by said lever, looper mechanism operable by said lever to form loops in the thread during the stitching operation including a looper shaft, a cam on said shaft, a thread deector plate having means for engaging the loop thread and including an arm engaging the cam aforesaid for sliding the plate transversely of the shaft.

14. In a sewing machine of the class described, a reciprocable needle bar and cooperating looper mechanism, a manually operating means directly connected to said needle bar for actuating the same in one direction, and a full stroke compelling mechanism associated with said needle bar and looper mechanism constructed and arranged to prevent reversereciprocation of the needle bar intermediate the ends of the reciprocatory stroke of said needle bar.

15. In a sewing machine of the class described, a reciprocable needle bar and cooperating looper mechanism, a manually operating means directly connected to said needle bar for actuating the same in one direction, separate means for actuating the bar in the opposite direction, and a full stroke compelling mechanism associated with said needle bar and looper mechanism constructed and arranged to prevent reverse reciprocation of the needle bar by the' separate means until a full stroke is produced by the manual means.

16. In a sewing machine of the class described, a frame support, a needle bar reciprocably mounted therein, means for reciprocating said needle bar, a looper mechanism including a looper shaft, means for effecting continuous rotation of said shaft in one direction by reciprocation of the needle bar aforesaid, and a full stroke ratchet mechanism cooperating with said reciprocating means for holding the needle bar in substantially any predetermined position intermediate the ends of its stroke.

HARRY A. LANDIS. 

